ALCATRAZZ / N. E. Bassist Recalls Being Kicked off KISS Tour

[strangeways]

http://www.legendaryrockinterviews.com/ ... w-england/

[doublev2]

put this on the interviews. great stuff

Gene and Paul offered him a LOT of money to go do the tour of Soccer Stadiums in South America so it really was a pretty easy choice to make versus staying on with us and working on demos.
LRI: You were already familiar with what a TOP 40 hit sounded like from your time in NEW ENGLAND but I would love to have been in your head to hear what you were thinking when you heard Vinnie’s material. So much of that material ended up being massive KISS hits, what did you think when you heard it?
GS: I LOVED it. I Thought it was absolutely fantastic. I thought it was SO good that I was willing to sacrifice everything I had in Boston and through everything in a suitcase to go to L.A. and form WARRIOR. I worked on those songs all day long, every day, all of us were. When he joined KISS it was like “Wow, now what do we do?”. Jimmy Waldo (Keyboardist) and I stayed out in L.A. and ended up forming Alcatrazz and Hirsh (Gardner, drums) went back to pursue music in Boston.
LRI: I cannot avoid the obvious question. I asked Hirsh but he didn’t really elaborate…..Vinnie is a fantastic writer and a maniac guitar player but what was it actually like to WORK with this enigma?
GS: It was almost impossible. He was very, very difficult to work with. He was THROWN out of KISS of course famously after all of this and the reason why Hirsh probably doesn’t wanna even talk about it is because Vinnie did some really, really nasty things to Hirsh around that time after he was booted from KISS. He did something which was not very nice which was he USED HIRSH to play drums on his new INVASION band’s demo out in BOSTON and then took it out to NEW YORK and just replaced all the drum tracks and got a record deal using the demo that HIRSH recorded. HIRSH not only lost his tracks but he lost all opportunity to make money on the work he allowed VINNIE to do out at his place in Boston. That was VINNIE VINCENT, that’s the kind of bandmember he was. Later on when VINNIE VINCENT INVASION played Providence, Rhode Island and Hirsh had the cops lock up all their amplifiers and equipment. After Hirsh put an order on him and sued him the marshalls came in and closed them down, they had to cancel the gig (laughs). Jimmy and I were in Tokyo with Alcatrazz when that happened and were just happy we weren’t involved (laughs).
LRI: So, it wasn’t like he was difficult to work with on the surface it was more his tendency to be shady and backstabbing?
GS: No, he was difficult to work with right in front of your face (LAUGHS). He was NEVER, EVER happy and would just go insane and constantly change his mind and second guess every single little detail about everything. He was unable to let something go and move on to the next thing. That’s what got him in trouble with KISS. He would call the KISS offices thirty or forty times a day with demands and questions to the point of where they just said “Enough already, GEEZ, calm down man”. He was unable to make a decision or even just settle down and just play guitar. There was some STRANGE stuff going on there with that guy. It was interesting to me because we grew up just a small distance apart from each other and had never met. On one hand he’s a great guy, a lot of personality, a funny guy, a great guitar player, a great songwriter but he is just SO Hard to work with because he OVERTHINKS almost everything! I mean he is an extremely talented guy, before we met him he had played with LAURA NYRO and the YOUNG RASCALS, Treasure, he had done a lot of really great, interesting things and wasn’t an unseasoned guy. Having said that, something has to give when you’re getting kicked out of your own band that you started and the label signs THEM and retitles it Slaughter. He is his own worst enemy.

[Brooklyn_Born]

Great interview! Thank You!!

[Slayer]

More of the same! Boo Hoo, I didn't get my royalties from Kiss so I'll just fuck Hirsh Gardner and steal his drum tracks and recording rights. Later he would steal the rhythm to "Let Freedon Rock" but we are haters?

Then he would steal his fans money sent to him for the Vinnie Vincent Archives.

These true stories are every where but he tries to make himself the victim.

[doublev2]

He also stole the warrior tapes, stole demos from studio in New England, stole recording equipment in los Angeles and some say he stole more than just let freedom rock too.

[doublev2]

Also did the same to Andre labelle. No credit on euphoria and a lot of his drums turned into digital drums.

[doublev2]

Sorry vic we got two threads going .

[shramiac]

Yeah poor Andre.

[doublev2]

And he doesn't complain either. Robert and Andre didn't even know about the ep until long after its release.

[Sandimas]

http://www.legendaryrockinterviews.com/ ... w-england/

Thanks for the link. A lot of stuff about Graham Bonnet on there too, another favourite of mine. At least GB is still out there playing, unlike other past heroes.

[poserboy71]

Amen. I love Graham Bonnett.

[doublev2]

toured with Bobby Rock recently.